the back of the truck. Closing the door on Michelle’s apartment filled me with concern. She’d been so happy there. Leaving it unprotected meant it might not be the same happy home we’d find when we came back.
Winifred was dressed and had most of her things packed up in bags when I returned.
“Jim and I will load this. You go check on the kids. Michelle hasn’t opened the bathroom door since I suggested they wash up.”
Aden looked up at me expectantly when I peeked inside the washroom.
“It was a tie,” I said. “Ready to go?”
They all nodded. The boys seemed better, but Michelle was pale and trembling. Fear oozed from her.
Jim called out to the boys as he walked into the apartment. Aden grinned.
“Why don’t you two go check on Jim?” I said.
As soon as they were gone, I held out my hand. “You’re not alone this time,” I said.
She let out a shaky breath and wrapped her fingers in mine. With the barest of tugs, I brought her into my arms and hugged her close. She rested her head on my shoulder briefly then pulled back. She was right. We needed to keep moving.
In the living room, Jim already had Aden up in his arms. I scooped Liam up, flipping him in the air before catching him in my arms again. Liam gasped and clung to me like a monkey, but I could smell his amusement.
“Since you two don’t have shoes on, Jim and Emmitt can carry you to the car,” Winifred said, reappearing.
We all walked out together. Michelle stayed close as we buckled her brothers in. Winifred locked up, not that it would keep a determined werewolf out, before joining us.
“Follow closely with the truck,” she said.
I nodded and led Michelle to the truck as Winifred climbed into the driver’s seat of her car. In the bed, the moonlight glinted off my bike. Jim must have put it there.
Michelle stayed quiet as we drove from the house. With each passing second, the scent of her fear grew stronger.
“You’re killing me,” I said.
“Excuse me?” She pulled her attention from the window to focus on me.
“Your fear. I can smell it. Even when you were facing down David in the parking lot of that diner, it wasn’t this bad.” I reached over and took her hand. “It will be okay. I promise. There is no need for this fear.”
“No need?” Her sarcastic disbelief was hard to miss. “Werewolves are real. One of them kept me locked away for four years and wants me back. The infallible laws, which your people can’t ignore, no longer seem to work. After all, Richard’s murderer hasn’t stepped forward.
“I’m heading to an unknown place filled with an unknown number of werewolves who will think I smell delicious and may or may not treat me like Blake has. If I don’t want to go, my only other option is to run again, zigzagging scent trails across the North American continent, waiting to be stumbled upon. How exactly am I supposed to get rid of my fear?”
When she said it like that, I found it hard to find the words to reassure her. So, I brought her hand to my mouth and tenderly kissed the knuckles. Her heart skipped a beat, a small acknowledgement that we were still together in this.
She went back to watching out the window.
Winifred, she’s afraid of going to the Compound.
Did she say why?
She knows the unMated males will be attracted to her scent.
We’ll address that first thing in the morning.
I doubted Michelle would like Winifred’s way of addressing her fears.
Michelle broke the silence several minutes later. “If not for the curse that causes you to be born to humans,” she whispered.
She turned her head and looked at me with a fearful expression.
“They knew I would be born? How had Blake known I’d be born?”
I squeezed her hand reassuringly, as I sent what she said to Winifred.
Winifred, you heard everything the mutts said, right?
Yes. Why?
Michelle just mentioned something. One said, “If not for the curse that causes you to be born to humans.” She thinks his choice of words means they knew she would be born. I think she’s right. But, how could they know?
Winifred was quiet a moment, and I began to wonder, if Blake and his mutts knew Michelle was born with premonitions, did they know about Mom? Maybe going back to the Compound wasn’t a good idea. Yet, how could I protect Michelle without the strength of my pack?